Effects of denosumab on bone mineral density and bone turnover in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving concurrent glucocorticoids or bisphosphonates.

Objectives: To report results of subgroup analyses of bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II study of denosumab, an investigational RANKL inhibitor, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) concurrently receiving treatment with bisphosphonates or glucocorticoids.

Methods: Patients received subcutaneous placebo (n=75), denosumab 60 mg (n=71) or denosumab 180 mg (n=72) at baseline and 6 months. Assessments included dual x-ray absorptiometry scans of the lumbar spine and hip, and determination of levels of serum type I C-telopeptide (sCTx-I) and serum procollagen 1N-terminal peptide (P1NP).

Transverse thickening along the articular surface of the rotator cuff consistent with the rotator cable: identification with MR arthrography and relevance in rotator cuff evaluation.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to describe the imaging appearance of transverse thickening along the articular surface of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons presumed to represent the rotator cable on MR arthrographic images obtained with the shoulder in abduction and external rotation (ABER) and in the non-ABER position and to assess the role of the rotator cable in the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears.

Materials And Methods: The study group comprised 54 patients who underwent arthroscopy of the shoulder and preoperative MR arthrography in which ABER images were obtained. Two blinded reviewers independently examined the ABER and non-ABER images for the presence of the rotator cable and rotator cuff tears.

Donor site morbidity following iliac crest bone graft.

Objectives: To evaluate the complications of harvesting autogenous bone from the iliac crest.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing iliac crest bone grafting at the University Hospital of the West Indies, during the period 2000-2004, was performed. One hundred and three patients were identified.

Metabolic turnover rates of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in captive juvenile snakes.

Metabolic turnover rates (m) of delta(15)N and delta(13)C were assessed in different tissues of newly hatched captive-raised corn snakes (Elaphe guttata guttata) fed maintenance diets consisting of earthworms (Eisenia foetida) that varied substantially in delta(15)N (by 644 per thousand) and delta(13)C (by 5.0 per thousand). Three treatments were used during this 144 day experiment that consisted of the same diet throughout (control), shifting from a depleted to an enriched stable isotope signature diet (uptake), and shifting from an enriched to depleted stable isotope signature diet (elimination).

Golimumab, a human antibody to tumour necrosis factor {alpha} given by monthly subcutaneous injections, in active rheumatoid arthritis despite methotrexate therapy: the GO-FORWARD Study.

Objective: The phase III GO-FORWARD study examined the efficacy and safety of golimumab in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite methotrexate therapy.

Methods: Patients were randomly assigned in a 3 : 3 : 2 : 2 ratio to receive placebo injections plus methotrexate capsules (group 1, n = 133), golimumab 100 mg injections plus placebo capsules (group 2, n = 133), golimumab 50 mg injections plus methotrexate capsules (group 3, n = 89), or golimumab 100 mg injections plus methotrexate capsules (group 4, n = 89). Injections were administered subcutaneously every 4 weeks.

Antimicrobial resistance of uncomplicated urinary tract infections in northern Utah.

Objective: To evaluate antimicrobial resistance in uropathogenic bacteria in northern Utah.

Design: One hundred twenty bacterial isolates from community-acquired UTI in the northern Utah area (Davis and Weber Counties) were tested. Samples were taken from otherwise healthy women, ages 18 to 50.

Use of FDG-PET in differentiating benign from malignant compression fractures.

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the use of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in differentiating benign from malignant compression fractures.

Patients And Methods: In a retrospective analysis, we identified 33 patients with 43 compression fractures who underwent FDG-PET. On FDG-PET the uptake pattern was recorded qualitatively and semiquantitatively and fractures were categorized as benign or malignant.

The Illizarov method in infected non-union of long bones.

Objective: To review the results of the management of infected non-union of long bones using the Illizarov fixator.

Methods: Eight patients with non-union of long bones associated with current or prior infection were treated between 1998 and 2006. Seven patients were treated between 2004 and 2006.

Spectrum of shoulder injuries in the baseball pitcher.

This review describes a range of shoulder injuries experienced by baseball pitchers. It is estimated that more than 57% of pitchers suffer some form of shoulder injury during a playing season. Knowledge of the overhead throwing cycle is crucial for our understanding of these shoulder injuries.

MR imaging of the elbow in baseball pitchers.

Baseball pitcher throwing biomechanics are important to understanding the pathophysiology and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging appearances of injuries in baseball pitchers. Baseball pitchers experience repetitive excessive valgus forces at the elbow. Typical injuries are secondary to medial joint distraction, lateral joint compression, and rotatory forces at the olecranon.

Evaluation of radial-sequence imaging in detecting acetabular labral tears at hip MR arthrography.

Objective: In recent years, radial imaging has been advocated for improved visualization of the acetabular labrum in magnetic resonance arthrography of the hip. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether radial imaging demonstrates labral tears not visible on standard imaging planes.

Methods: Fifty-four consecutive magnetic resonance (MR) arthrograms of the hip that included radial imaging over 2 years were retrospectively analyzed by two radiologists.

Cystic changes at supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendon insertion sites: association with age and rotator cuff disorders in 238 patients.

Purpose: To retrospectively determine the frequency of posterior and anterior cystic abnormalities at rotator cuff insertion site on the greater tuberosity and to determine their relationship to patient age and rotator cuff disorders.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was given; informed consent was waived. The study was HIPAA compliant.

Femoroacetabular impingement.

Femoroacetabular impingement is a relatively recently appreciated "idiopathic" cause of hip pain and degenerative change. Two types of impingement have been described. The first, cam impingement, is the result of an abnormal morphology of the proximal femur, typically at the femoral head-neck junction.

Re-examining the association of os acromiale with supraspinatus and infraspinatus tears.

Purpose: To re-evaluate the relationship between os acromiale and rotator cuff tears.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 84 magnetic resonance imaging studies of the shoulder. Forty-two subjects with os acromiale (n = 42; 32 men and ten women, age 25-81 years, mean 47.

Computed tomography of suspected scaphoid fractures.

Purpose: Computed tomography (CT) can be used to triage suspected scaphoid fractures. This study assessed intraobserver and interobserver reliability and positive and negative predictive values of CT for the diagnosis of a nondisplaced scaphoid fracture.

Methods: Eight observers evaluated CT scans from 30 patients (13 with nondisplaced scaphoid fractures, 17 with no scaphoid fractures) for the presence or absence of a fracture.

Use of gadolinium chelate to confirm epidural needle placement in patients with an iodinated contrast reaction.

Objective: When performing epidural steroid injections for the management of chronic back pain, imaging guidance and a limited epidurogram improve accuracy of needle placement and ensure appropriate delivery of the injectate into the epidural space. We describe our experience using a gadolinium chelate as an alternative contrast agent for limited epidurography in patients with a history of an iodinated contrast reaction.

Design: Thirty-eight of 2,067 (1.

Distal clavicular osteolysis: MR evidence for subchondral fracture.

Purpose: To investigate the association between distal clavicular osteolysis and subchondral fractures of the distal clavicle at MRI.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the hospital human research committee, which waived the need for informed consent. Three radiologists retrospectively analyzed 36 shoulder MR examinations in 36 patients with imaging findings of distal clavicular osteolysis.

MR imaging of the rotator cuff.

MR imaging is the optimal method for evaluating suspected rotator cuff pathology. Current techniques of fast spin-echo imaging without and with fat suppression allow accurate identification and characterization of tendinous and myotendinous abnormalities of the rotator cuff. Impingement disorders, tendon degeneration, instability,and trauma comprise the multifactorial nature of rotator cuff disease.

Shoulder magnetic resonance imaging.

MRI provides excellent soft tissue contrast and allows for multiplanar imaging in anatomic planes. Because of these advantages MRI has become the study of choice for imaging of shoulder pathology. Some structures, such as the rotator cuff, humeral head contour, and glenoid shape, are evaluated well with conventional MRI.

Magnetic resonance imaging in the quantitative assessment of gouty tophi.

Measurements of tophus size can be important in monitoring the course of gout therapy, as tophus resolution is proposed as one measure of success of treatment. This multicentre study assessed the intra- and interreader reproducibility of quantitative tophus volume measurements from magnetic resonance images (MRI) in subjects with palpable gouty tophi. Subjects first underwent radiographic imaging of a selected tophus followed by MRI before and at View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Real-world utilization of DMARDs and biologics in rheumatoid arthritis: the RADIUS (Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug Intervention and Utilization Study) study.

Objective: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (DMARD) Intervention and Utilization Study (RADIUS) is a unique, real-world, prospective, 5-year, observational study of over 10 000 patients with RA. RADIUS provides a snapshot of use patterns, effectiveness, and safety of DMARDs, biologics, and combination therapies used to manage RA in clinical practice.

Research Design And Methods: Patients with RA requiring a new DMARD or biologic (addition or switch) were eligible for the RADIUS study.

Etanercept in combination with sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine, or gold in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To prospectively determine the efficacy and safety of etanercept in combination with sulfasalazine (SSZ), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and gold in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A prospective open-label study enrolled 119 patients with RA who had active disease despite stable therapy with SSZ (n = 50), HCQ (n = 50), or intramuscular gold (n = 19). Primary efficacy endpoints consisted of American College of Rheumatology responses at 24 and 48 weeks.

Imaging of the overhead throwing athlete.

Knowledge of overhead throwing biomechanics is crucial to understand specific injuries encountered in throwing athletes on diagnostic imaging. Most specific injuries of overhead throwing athletes occur at the shoulder and elbow. Throwing athletes are susceptible to rotator cuff tears from tensile overload and external and internal impingement.